Warp knitted fabric suitable for bandaging and the like



June 10, 1969 3,448,595

WARP KNITTED FABRIC SUITABLE FOR BANDAGING AND THE LIKE E. BALTZER ET ALFiled May 18. 1966 /ofe Sheet Fig. lb

Inventors E. BCL/22er, Na/dorf? w1 H/VG'fC/LIL'ZCL kdna-rcks gain* Av Te@N555 June 10, 1969 E. BALTZER ET ALv 3,448,595

` WAR? KNITTED FABRIC SUITABLE FOR BANDAGING AND THE LIKE Filed May 18.196e sheet of e 'flnvenors Ea/zer, W. Maydorn 4 H. /Vcchlla MGLLQMMCMX-ATTQYLNESS June 10, 1969 E. BALTZER ET Al- WARP KNITTED FABRIC SUITABLEFOR BANDAGING AND THE LIKE Sheet 3 of' 6 Filed May 18. 1966 MLLMMJATATTO YLNESS June 10, 1969 E, BALTZER ET AL 3,448,595

WARP KNITTED FABRIC SUITABLE FOR BANDAGING AND THE LIKE Filed'may 18.196e sheet 4 of s /nVento/"s E. Bazer) N. Mae/arriva #./Vcic/vLZZG.

B5 okwcLgY ATTOVLN E35 June 10, 1969 E. BALTZER ET AL 3,448,595

WAR? KNITTED FABRIC SUITABLE FOR BANDAGING AND THE LIKE Filed May 18,196e sheet 5 of e Fig.5

Inventors E. cLZe/j LJ. Maydom mi H. M'Lc/va w @dnas-oh n A'T'TO TLNESSJune l0, 1969 E. BALTZER ET AL WARP KNITTED FABRIC SUITABLE FORBANDAGING AND THE LIKE Sheet Filed May 18, 1966 w @Mdgx- ATTORNEESSUnited States Patent O U.S. Cl. 66-193 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THEDISCLOSURE A warp knit fabric suitable for bandaging and like materialincluding wales of looped, practically non-twisted y thread bindingthick, highly-twisted, n-on-elastic walewise extending threads andincluding sinuously extending transverse threads twisted to a minimumextent and bound in between the thick threads and the looped threads ofthe wales.

This invention pertains to bandaging and dressing materials or similartextiles and refers more particularly to textiles composed of threads orthread portions which when exposed to moisture from a Wound or the like,expand, shrink or swell in different ways and thereby carry out arelative movement which prevents or diminishes the possibility of theirsticking to each other and to the underlying surface.

Bandaging materials of this type which are known in the prior artconsist of fabrics having weft threads ex'- tending next to each otherand over each other at the warp threads which have different shrinkingcapacities when receiving moisture from a wound, so that thenonshrinking threads bend relatively to the shrinking ones. The warpthreads must also have an elongated preferably oval cross-section sothat they will assume inclined positions relatively to the surface ofthe fabric when the weft threads shrink.

In another known construction of such fabric the threads are coupledwithin the fabric in such manner that the shrinking thread portions areheld at a distance from the surface of the Wound.

An object of the present invention is to improve known fabrics of thistype.

Another object is to replace these known fabrics by other textiles whichwill present greater advantages.

Other objects will become apparent in the course of the followingspecification.

In the accomplishment of the objectives of the present invention it wasfound desirable to provide a surgical dressing consisting of a knittedfabric with a thick highly twisted thread bound either along a straightor staggered line with at least one thread forming the wale. Preferablythis knitted fabric is made upon a at knitting machine with at least twolaying bars. According to one special embodiment of the presentinvention the knitted fabric is so made that a thick highly twistedthread is bound along a straight or staggered line by other threadstwisted to at least a minimum extent, whereby at least one of thelast-mentioned threads forms the wale. As far as the threads which aretwisted to a minimum extent are concerned, -at least two can be knit insinuous formation over at least two wales.

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The invention will appear more clearly from the following detaileddescription when taken in connection with the accompanying drawingsshowing by way of example preferred embodiments of the inventive idea.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a diagram showing one embodiment of a knitting design.

FIGURE la is an enlarged cutout diagrammatic front view of a fabric madein accordance with the procedure of FIG. 1.

FIGURE 1b is a diagram showing a spread-out placing of threads inaccordance with the procedure of FIG. 1.

FIGURE 2 is a diagram showing another embodiment of a knitting design.

FIGURE 2a is an enlarged front view of a cutout portion of a fabric madein accordance with the procedure of FIG. 2.

FIGURE 3 is a diagram showing yet another embodiment of a knittingdesign.

FIGURE 3a is an enlarged front view of a cutout por'- tion of a fabricmade in accordance with the procedure of FIG. 3.

FIGURE 4 is a diagram showing still another embodiment of a knittingdesign.

FIGURE 4a is an enlarged front view of a cutout portion of a fabric madein accordance with the procedure of FIG. 4.

FIGURE 5 is a diagram showing a further embodiment of a knitting design.

FIGURE 5a is an enlarged front view of a cutout portion of a fabric madein accordance with the procedure of FIG. 5.

FIGURE 6 is a diagram showing a still further ernbodiment of a knittingdesign.

FIGURE 6a is an enlarged front View of a cutout portion of a fabric madein accordance with the procedure of FIG. 6.

For the sake of clarity of illustration all embodiments have been shownas having a knitting design with four threads. It will be apparent,however, for anyone skilled in the art, that a comparable knitted fabriccan be easily produced with a smaller or larger number of threads.

e.. In all illustrated embodiments the same symbols have been used forindicating similarly located' threads, namely,

A broken line with long sections for the thread L.1 with minimumtwisting of the size 40/1;

A broken and dotted line for the thread L.2 with minimum twisting of thesize 40/1; and

A dotted line for the thread L.4 with minimum twisting of the size 40/1,while f A thick double line is used for thick highly twisted thread L.3of the size 34/ 2.

It will be noted that in all embodiments the thread L3 extends throughthe fabric along a straight line or in only slightly shifted formationand that the thread L.1 isy knit in loop formation which binds thethread L3, while the threads L2 and L.4 are generally knit over at leasttwo wales and Iare greatly helpful for the binding of the fabric. In thediagrams of FIGS. l, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 the needles 0, 2, 4, 6, areindicated as screen dots.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1, la and 1b, the fabric includes athick, highly twisted thread L.3, a thread L.1 which is not twisted andwhich forms a chain stitch, and threads LZ, L.4 which form sinuous`transverse loops and which are bound in at least four locations with thethreads L.3 and L.1.

The thread L3 is a thick, highly twisted thread which excludeslengthwise elasticity and supplies adequate strength to the knittedfabric. The thread L.1 is a shortlooped thread twisted to a minimumextent but providing transverse elasticity. The important long loopedthread L2 provides high transverse elasticity It is thus apparent thatthe thick highly twisted thread L.3 extends walewise 2 in a shiftedformation. The thin thread L.1 for-ms a chain stitch `and binds theheavy thread L3. The two threads L.2 and LA extend parallel in largewindings in a -0, 4-4 stitch pattern and are also bound by theloopforming thread L.1. The laying of the threads L.2 and L.4 can bealso described as weft formation. The loops of the thread L.1 bindtogether the other three threads of the knitted fabric. The thread L.1is knit in a 2-0, 0-2 stitch pattern as shown in FIGURE 1.

FIG. 1b illustrates separately the knitting of the individual threadsL.1 to L.4 in accordance with the diagram of FIG. l, while FIG. la is atop view of a portion of a knitted fabric made in accordance with thediagram vof FIG. l. In the finished fabric al1 threads extend veryclosely to each other.

In the embodiment of FIGS. 2 and 2a, the thick highly twisted thread L.3extends along a straight line between two wales. The loop-forming threadL.1 which binds this straight thread L.3 is knit in a 2-0, 4-6 stitchpattern. One of the two threads arranged in large windings, namely, thethread L.2 is knit in a 0-0, 4-4 stitch pattern, while the other threadL.4 is knit in a 6-6, 0-0 stitch pattern, whereby the two threads L.2and L.4 cross each other and are also bound by the loops of the threadL.1. The arrangement attained in this knitted fabric is that the thinthreads extend largely at right angles to the thick thread L.3 extendingalong a straight line.

In accordance with the embodiment shown in FIGS. 3 and 3a, the thickhighly twisted thread L.3 again extends along a straight line in thewale. The thread L.3 is bound by threads L.2 and L4 which are knitparallel in large windings in a 0-0, 4-4 stitch pattern as shown, thethread L.1 binding the threads L 2 and LA. The thread L.1 is knit in a2-0, 2-4 stitch pattern as shown in FIGURE 3.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 4 and 4a, the thick l,highly twistedthread L.3 extends in shifted formation in the wale and the loop-formingthread L.1 is knit in a 2-0, 2-4 stitch pattern. The threads L.2 and L.4are knit in large windings in a 0-0, 6-6 stitch pattern so that theyl,crossthevthiclc thread L 3 andv the loop-forming thread v--.L.1 andare boundv by the latter, whilethey themselves also bindthe thick threadL.3.

.,Inaccordance with the embodiment shown in FIGS. 5 and 5a,l the'thickhighly twisted thread L.3 extends along a straight lineibetween thewales. The loop-forming athread L.1 is knit in a 0-2, 0-2, and binds thetwo threads L2 and L.4, which are knit in large windings in a 0-0, 4 4stitch pattern and extend parallel. The threads L.2 and L.4V bind thethick thread L.3.

-- yIn.l the` embodiment shown in FIGS. 6 and 6a, the thick -fjhig'hlytwisted thread L.3 again extends in a straight line betweenthe wales andthe threads L.2 and L.4 are knit parallel about the needle rows Z and 4in large windings.

.'Ihe-,loop-forrning.,thread L.1 which binds the other l threads isknitin a 210, 0,-2, 2 4, 4-2 stitch pattern.

.v .ItiisV apparent from the above-described embodiments of 5the,.present invention that the thick highly twisted thread L. 3 extends in thevknitted lfabric substantially alpong astraight-eline orA onlyslightlyshifted and is bound by the loop-forming thread, whereby theloops of that :threadjvalso bindadditional threads L2 and LA, whichflorrmaconnection Vto the next wale and to the thick highly `,twistedthread associated therewith. y

large angle to the thick thread and there are considerably lessintersections between the thin threads and the Thus the thin'threads ofthe knitted fabric extend at a thick thread than in a fabric wherein thethick thread is compressed at all intersections, thereby limiting itsabsorbing capacity and freedom of movement. This is not the case withthe knitted fabric of the present invention; furthermore, since thethick thread extends along a straight line or only with small windings,considerably less material is consumed than in the cases of a wovenmaterial. The thick heavy thread is shortened in the knitted fabric onlyto a small extent, so that this knitted fabric can be produced much moreeconomically than a woven fabric. Furthermore, the knitted fabric of thepresent invention is produced on knitting machines which operate'muchmore quickly than weaving machines, thus providing additional economy inthe manufacture.

The particular thread arrangement in the knitted fabric of the presentinvention provides not only better movement possibilities for the highlytwisted thick thread when sucking in liquid emerging from a wound, butalso enables it to absorb more liquid, since the thread is notcompressed at intersection locations. On the contrary, the formation ofloops and the location of the thin threads provide further capillaryspaces which absorb the liquid. Furthermore, the knitted fabric of thepresent invention due to its specific thread formation transmits airmuch more freely than prior art woven fabrics, so that a wound canbetter dry up and heal. When liquid penetrates, the fabric is liftedoffthe wound, so that the bandage bends itself outwardly away from thewound; this takes place dueto the greater elasticity of the knittedfabric even when the surgical dressing was firmly bound upon the wound.The surgical dressing made of the fabric of the present invention isfixed firmly and securely outside of the edges of the wound and cannotshift, while above the wound it forms an outwardly domed boss belowwhich air can reach the wound. The surgical dressing can not glue itselfto the surface of the wound and the healing processis improved by thepenetration of air to the wound surface.

The knitted fabric of the present invention has the additional generaladvantage in comparison to known woven surgical dressings for wounds, inthat it is more elastic and more stretchable in different directions, sothat it can be better applied as a wound surgical dressing and will holdconsiderably better upon the applied location. Furthermore, the knittedfabric of the present invention can be produced so that it will not tearor frazzle at the edges irrespective as to how it is cut. Thus asurgical dressing can be cut in several strips. Therefore, it is notnecessary to store a supply of surgical dressings of different widths.The knitted fabric of the present invention can be produced in widelengths and then cut into strips of the desired generally used widths.

It is apparent that the examples described above have been given solelyby way of illustration and not by way of limitation and that theyare'subject to many variations yand modifications within the scope ofthe present invention. All such variations and modifications are to beincluded within the scope of the present invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A knitted fabric for use as a surgical bandaging and dressingmaterial, comprising a plurality of walewise parallel chains, each chainhaving a thick highly twisted longitudinal binding thread of littleelasticity adapted to extend substantially longitudinally in linearcontact with a wound along lengthy stretches, -another nearly nontwistedthread consisting of loops having a parallel walewise chainconfiguration and binding said thick thread,

and pairs -of parallel cross filling long looped threads of the longlooped threads of sinuous configuration form capillary spaces forabsorbing the liquid of a wound and for providing air access to theWound.

2. A knitted fabric in accordance with claim 1, wherein said thickthread extends along a straight line.

3. A knitted fabric in accordance with claim 1, where in said thickthread extends in a shifted formation.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS ROBERT R.

3/ 1940 Kappler 66-192 9/1953 Weinberg 66-193 4/1955 Gross et a1. 66-1935/1965 Riehl 66--193 7/1966 Formenti 66-193 3/1967 Gross 66--195 XRFOREIGN PATENTS 4/ 1954 Austria.

8/ 1965 France.

5/ 1962 Great Britain.

MACKEY, Primary Examiner.

U.S. C1. X.R.

